Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Career Day

When we were on the boat the other night, we ended up sitting with a charming older couple and their brother.  They were wonderful people with awesome stories to share.  At one point the woman turned to us and asked what we did for a living.  So the Pants Monkey talked about working in IT and we found out that one of the sons of the couple works in California for Pandora - how cool is that?  Then she turned to me for my answer and I said I was an administrative assistant for a health organization and started to explain I work more behind the scenes but somehow she heard "assistant" and "health" and automatically assumed I was a medical assistant and started telling me how wonderful it is that I do that kind of work and how important it is.  I didn't bother correcting her, I didn't want to make her feel bad.  But it made me think, I've talked a little about my job here, but not too much about what it is I "do".  So today is career day!


My official title is Administrative Assistant, Facilities.  My boss is the Director of Clinic Facilities for the clinics in our organization located in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. In layman's terms - she makes sure the buildings are in good shape, the heating/cooling is working, the building isn't falling apart, etc.  Our office is on the 3rd floor of one of the clinic buildings and it is a building that has tenants that are not part of our organization, but we manage the building.  Part of my job is to field calls from those tenants when they have a light out or something and route it to our maintenance staff.  Another part of my job is to print the employee ID security badges that each person wears.  Sometimes I even take the new employee photos.  I replace badges when they break or are lost.  And then finally, because my boss is someone who is often on the road and busy, I do everything I can to make her life easier - manage her calendar, reconcile her company credit card, enter her mileage, code invoices for payment, etc.  It's your basic admin type job.  So as you can see, I do nothing with patients at all.  I don't even really interact with patients or really even clinic staff other than when I go get our mail or punch in and out for the day down in the clinic.


Sounds so exciting doesn't it?  It's really not too bad though, I do enjoy it for the most part.  Fact - I probably way overdress for this position in all honesty.  Our maintenance staff wears jeans and polos.  My own boss is pretty much a chinos and a nice shirt kind of woman.  Most of the clinic staff wears scrubs.  The front desk staff don't even dress up much, many of them wear khakis and we're all allowed to wear these fleece zip up jackets that our company provided us, so many of them wear that.  Not to mention, I'm holed up in this office with just my boss, so I really don't have to dress up as much as I do sometimes.  But I do it because I enjoy it!  I love clothes and I like to look good!  I do dress down on Fridays as you've seen.  I have to say though, when my boss's boss comes to visit he always has a suit on, so I feel good when I'm dressed up if he stops by!

And even though I'm not directly involved in patient care, I still get a lot of perks that come with working in healthcare.  I get a free flu shot every year - in fact it is required.  Our benefits are so crazy awesome and uber affordable.  We carry both myself and the Pants Monkey on our health insurance and barely pay anything.  And you've probably noticed with all these days off I've had lately, our time off program is sweet - if you don't use the time you accrue in a year it carries over.  So I had a bunch saved up because I hadn't understood that when I first started here.  So that's been kind of nice to have!  We get a lot of employee discounts for things like cell phone service.  So I really can't complain!  Not to mention, I'm about 10-15 minutes from home and 5 minutes from my parents house at this office.  Yay short commutes!


So there you have it.  That is what I do for a living.  My boss is awesome to work for and I'm nervous because she plans to retire in January 2014 - so in just over a year things may be different here, but for now things are good and stable and I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

Outfit rundown:
Dress - handed down from Lynne
Blazer - F21 (last year)
Shoes - Madden Girl, thrifted
Necklace - Maurices
Tights - Target

25 comments :

  1. I love hearing about what people do for a living. You sound like you really have a sweet gig! I work in accounting so I don't have to dress up at all, but I do because I like it too. I love your blazer! It is so preppy :) Heather

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  2. I think that overdressing is better than underdressing, anyway, so hurray for you! :) LOVE the blazer and dress combo!

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  3. So glad yo hear about what you do!! :) Sounds like it keeps you busy! And this blazer is F21?! I thought it was an old vintage university blazer! Funny!

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  4. Love your blazer!

    We actually do very similar jobs. I assist on Facilities (we have 2 floors in a 6 storey building) with the Fac Mgr. Since I work Reception, though, my job is way more admin type things, but I do what you do for your boss: expenses, booking travel, making people's lives easier!

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  5. You look fabulous in purple and I love the crested blazer!

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  6. They do say, dress for the job you want, not for the one you have! I lurv the colors in your dress, and the blazer makes it a great office look!

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  7. Beth, that dress looks terrific on you, love the pairing with the blazer and pretty shoes. I'm so desperate to wear tights, but am stuck with galoshes today :P

    Thanks for sharing your job info with us; I like learning more about my fave style bloggers' lives.

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  8. I really like the look of a blazer over a dress. Sounds like you really enjoy your job, and that's most important! The benefits probably don't hurt too!

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  9. I love the school boy type blazer! (love that it's a find from f21 too)
    You look lovely and dressing because it makes you feel better is the best way to go!

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  10. Fabulous dress. The print is so awesome. I think it's great that you dress well for you job. So long as it doesn't interfere with your work, it's always good to wear things that make you feel professional.

    Your job sounds really cool. I often wonder how people manage to find these jobs. Hillary once helped me figure out how to get on at a college, but other than the CC I got to, everything is too far away for me to work at.

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  11. i love hearing what people do for a living, too, it's always so interesting! i don't think most people understand what i really do, so it's nice when you have the time to really go into depth and explain! i also love the print of your dress and the cute blazer - i was tempted to wear tights today too but i'm not quite ready! :)

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  12. I like the blazer. It is always nice to hear about when people like their jobs!

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  13. Love your outfit...especially the blazer! Aren't you excited that it's finally cool enough for this type of outfit?! :) So fun to see a post about your job. I think it really makes a difference when you're in a positive work environment!

    Jess - J's Style
    fancypants514.blogspot.com

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  14. I'm an Administrative Assistant too! I work for a physical therapist, who owns her own practice. I do interact with patients during my work day. It's a relatively new practice, so I don't have many perks. I do enjoy working there and am hoping for growth in the future. I like that you were able to wear a blazer with your outfit. It's way to hot here for me to do that yet. Nice look!

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  15. Thanks for sharing your career with us, I always love hearing about the ladies behind the blogs. No one dresses up in my office either but I feel better and more professional when I do. Love the print of that dress and the cute preppy blazer. Those shoes are fantastic, I totally want them!

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  16. Love this cute work outfit. That blazer is awesome!!

    -Jessi
    haircutandgeneralattitude.blogspot.com

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  17. I love hearing what you do - and what all the other commenters do, too! I work at a university in the records department. I would have to say the job is likely the most diverse in the department because I get to do a little of everything - registering students, adjusting fees, verifying people have those pesky prerequisites, confirming education for employment screening agencies. And I definitely know about the benefits - wowweee aren't great benefits such a relief! We don't pay a single cent for ours, and it will cover myself, my husband and any children down the road. I still can't believe it!

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  18. Yay for short commutes! It really makes life so much nicer!

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  19. I'm always striking up conversations with whomever is around. It makes the world smaller, huh?

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  20. Loving that dress! And that is awesome that you love your boss... I hate mine and can't wait till she leaves :) What a great career day post!

    XO
    www.pearlsandpaws.blogspot.com

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  21. Having a great boss is so important! Thanks for telling us more about what you do. I can see working in that field being incredibly stressful but also rewarding.

    Cute dress! Love these colors on you :)

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  22. That preppy blazer is so cute! That is great that you enjoy your job and your boss. Sounds like it has some awesome perks too! Wish I could say the same for my job, ha.

    -Sharon
    The Tiny Heart
    Enter my scarf giveaway! (open internationally)

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  23. Beth, I used to do something similar in the medical field. I had two male bosses and they were a hoot. I laughed most of the day. Love your blazer, looks really cute with the dress. Good for you dressing for yourself, that is how it should be and happiness at work spills over into happiness with life. Dawn suitcase Vignettes xo

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  24. I enjoyed hearing more about your job and workplace.
    Are those navy tights? I think I had only worn black and brown before (and rarely that), but last season I did purchase a navy, burgundy and green pair. The navy is my favorite of the colored ones and I look forward to wearing them this fall/winter.

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